1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to plaque disclosing compositions containing a cobalamin compound for use as a diagnostic tool and in the improvement of oral hygiene practices.
2. Disclosure of the Prior Art
A significant portion of dental plaque which forms on tooth surfaces consists of colonies of bacteria surrounded by a matrix of polysaccharide and protein which cannot be flushed away by simply rinsing with water. Active brushing of the teeth is required to remove the adherent plaque.
It is a well accepted fact that dental plaque when allowed to accumulate on tooth surfaces can eventually lead to gingivitis, periodontal disease, caries and calculus. Thus, it is apparent that effective removal of deposits of dental plaque is absolutely essential for oral health. Accordingly, proper oral hygiene practices which may be carried out by an individual on his or her own teeth or by a dentist, necessitates readily available means of identification and location of plaque deposits in the oral cavity.
Since dental plaque is usually transparent and colorless and not easily visible, an individual frequently is not aware of the quantity or the location of dental plaque present on the teeth. Therefore, it is desirable to use plaque-disclosing compositions to identify tooth areas where plaque buildup is a problem. The use of disclosing compositions motivate a person in the early removal of dental plaque by showing the presence and quantity of plaque.
Disclosing agents for dental plaque as a means of measuring tooth cleanliness and to effect proper oral hygiene practices, have been widely explored in the prior art.
Disclosing agents include organic dyes such as erythrosin (FDC Red #3) as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,274 by Brilliant, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,219 by Perlitsch. Block patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,723,613; 3,997,658 and 4,064,229 disclose a two-tone dye test comprising the combination of the erythrosin with either FDC Green #3, FDC Blue #1 or Hercules Green Shade 3 in order to obtain differential staining, i.e. thick old plaques stain blue and thin new plaques stain red.
Gaffar, U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,638, discloses a red vegetable dye obtained from sugar beets as a plaque disclosant. Kosti, U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,378 discloses rupturable microencapsulated dyes as a plaque disclosant. Frysh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,700 discloses as a plaque disclosant a water insoluble pigment such as a lake.
A drawback to the use of the plaque disclosing dyes and pigments of the prior art is that they normally have an unpalatable and objectionable taste which is not effectively masked by any known flavoring agent or sweetener and these colorants indiscriminately stain surfaces including the tongue, lips and clothing of the user.